This invention relates generally to cooking appliances and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for heating a cooking appliance.
At least one known oven includes an oven cavity, and a drawer beneath the oven cavity which may be utilized to store various articles, such as food therein. The food needs to be maintained above a specific temperature in the drawer. A plurality of known heating elements may be utilized to respectively heat the oven cavity and the drawer. At least some known heating elements work on a 120 volt electrical power supply. As such, the oven is provided with a 240 volt power supply for substantially simultaneously heating both the oven cavity and the drawer. Accordingly, home kitchens in which the oven is to be installed have to be wired with a 240 volt power supply.
If a consumer has a previous oven that is either gas or has a 120 volt power supply, the kitchen may have to be rewired to accommodate a 240 volt appliance.
Accordingly, a new circuit breaker, upgraded electrical wiring, and an outlet configured to deliver 240 volts to the electric appliance may have to be wired into the house. Such rewiring undesirably increases the costs to the consumer, and discourages some consumers from selecting such an electric oven.